


The Arrest Of The Groom

by queen_of_shanath



Series: Pre-Mount-Massive [2]
Category: Outlast (Video Games)
Genre: Death, Eddie is being a shithead once more, Gore, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Rape, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, mentions of gore, prequel to Outlast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:56:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24912700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_of_shanath/pseuds/queen_of_shanath
Summary: Miles Upshur, journalist and professional death-avoider, takes up the case of a crazy serial killer.TW for death, gore, rape, drugging...it is an Outlast fanfic after all
Series: Pre-Mount-Massive [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106579
Kudos: 15





	The Arrest Of The Groom

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy! <3

**_180 days before the arrest_ **

The streets of New York City were cold and cruel. Rain hammering down into the dark alleys, hiding what was happening in the open. Blood mixed with water, dark red fading into lighter shades. The noises of cars and chatting drowned out the screams of his latest victim, neatly tucked away behind a dumpster. Someone would find her eventually, but wearing gloves hid his identity. No fingerprints, no hair would be found on her. He was an intelligent man, after all - compared to these whores, he was a demigod.

**_171 days before the arrest_ **

A cry, shrill enough to make one’s blood freeze, echoed through the street. By now, rats and stray cats have started to consume parts of her body, ripping away her delicate flesh. The rain had bloated up the corpse, presenting itself in an almost inhuman way, something one would see in a horror movie. The police quickly came to the conclusion that this woman must have been another victim of The Groom. How? Her uterus was missing and clear signs of sexual assault were visible. A gaping hole in her stomach revealed her missing organ, and during autopsy, a small rat hiding behind guts and gore scared the doctor. Nobody was sure why the Groom did it that way. What would he do with an assortment of uteruses?

**_170 days before the arrest_ **

“Have you seen this shit?! The Groom got another one!”, Miles threw the newspaper on the kitchen table. “That’s insane! That’s at least...10 murders in the past three years. And they still haven’t gotten him!”

The cat sitting by Miles’ side let out a meow, to which Miles looked down to her. “What do you think, Cuticles? Will someone ever catch The Groom?”

Cuticles purred, rubbing her head against Miles’s side as if she was agreeing with him. “I knew you’d say that, you little bastard," he muttered, taking a sip of his coffee - no sugar, no milk. The warm beverage gave his brain a little boost, the grinding of his gears brought steam out of his head. He was an investigating journalist after all! He could do something! But dealing with a crazy, uterus-cutting-out serial killer was a bit different than dealing with war crimes in Afghanistan. But wasn’t it boiling down to the same thing? 

Cuticles meowed again, bringing his attention back to her. The black cat placed her paws on Miles’s chest, looking at her owner. Her eyes were as black as her fur, and Miles had fallen in love with her the moment he saw her in the shelter. Why did he name her Cuticles? Cats were named after everything, including Mittens or Button. So why not Cuticles?

The affection of his number one fan gave Miles a confidence high, and he jumped up from his seat, loud enough that the downstairs neighbours would complain next time they saw him.

“You know what, Cuticles? I am going to catch him!”

**_140 days before the arrest_ **

But catching a sneaky serial killer with a fetish for opening up dead bodies wasn’t as easy as Miles thought. Another crazy day filled to the brim with new clients who needed Miles’ service, writing and giving Cuticles cuddles, he decided to wind the day down at a nearby bar he frequented.

The bar was filled with people, barely enough space to squeeze one through. Out of sheer luck, Miles managed to score a seat by the bar, right next to a pretty blonde. She was sipping on some drink, Miles ordered a beer for himself.

“...and what leads such a pretty woman to a bar like this?”, Miles tried to gain the attention of the blonde. She let out a chuckle and looked at the journalist. She scanned him from head to toe - Miles wasn’t an ugly fella. A solid 7 out of 10. When he bothered to shave, he was easily an 8.

“I am new to this city. Just moved here to find my luck in the big city. And you?”

“Well...I have been living here for so long. New York City always offers new surprises even when you think you have seen everything.”

The blonde smiled and offered Miles her hand, “My name is Mindy, nice to meet you. And yours is…?”

“Miles.”, he took her hand, kissing the top of it. The blonde blushed, she smelt like lilac and gooseberries, filling Miles’ brain with pure bliss.

The two talked through the night until it was time to leave. Miles and Mindy lived on the same street, just a few houses away. They said their goodbyes, Mindy walking the last few feet with Miles being inside of his home already.

**_135 days before the arrest_ **

“I wonder why she hasn’t messaged me yet…” Miles muttered as he stared at his phone. Mindy and him had swapped phone numbers after a few hours of talk, and he looked her Whats App profile picture.

After a long and deep sigh, Miles put his phone away and continued with his work. At least, sort of. He was growing tired of the article he was writing, so he decided to check the website of the NYPD for possible hints towards The Groom. But what he saw shook him to his core, the healthy colour replaced by a pale shade. On the website was a headline - “Please help us identify this woman who was found on the 16th of this month”. The 16th was three days ago...Miles clicked the link added, to the picture of the woman.

It was Mindy, eyes closed, a few shades paler than when he got to know her.

Mindy was dead.

**_134 days before the arrest_ **

“Mr. Upshur, thank you for your help," one officer said as he led Miles to the autopsy room, where a doctor was already waiting. The body was covered with a thin blanket, and the doctor pulled it down to reveal her face.

Miles nodded, a hint of nausea creeping up his throat. “That’s her. That’s Mindy," he whispered, as if his soft voice could bring her back.

“How…”, Miles started, but the doctor shook his head.

“I am not allowed to tell the circumstances of her death to outsiders.”

After recording everything he knew about Mindy, Miles was thanked with a small sum of money and free to go. But he wasn’t ready to let go. Instead of heading towards the exit, Miles headed into the direction of the autopsy room, dodging officers and doctors on his way as much as he could.

He slowly opened the door to the autopsy room, trying not to alarm anyone with loud noises. Luckily, the doctor was not inside there, leaving him a short time frame to find out what happened to Mindy.

Miles closed the door, heading towards the body on the table. It was still covered in the blanket and when Miles revealed her face, it looked as if she was asleep. Like a sleeping beauty, waiting for a kiss to be awaken again.

More and more was revealed of her body when Miles lifted the blanket. So many bruises and sores on her body - she must have fought against her death, And she must have stayed alive for at least a day for bruises to form. Someone must have kept her prisoner. And Miles knew who.

With a long and near cut, her uterus had been cut out, leaving a gaping hole on her body.

Mindy was killed by The Groom. And Miles was ready to hunt him down.

**_131 days before the arrest_ **

“Of course Mr. Upshur”, the owner of the bar said, leading Miles into the back. Miles had wanted to find out how and where The Groom could have snagged her, but so far with no success. No clues on the streets they had walked down, no possible security cameras anywhere. So his last hope was the bar he met Mindy in.

The owner had a few cameras around his bar and on the outside, just to make sure who was at fault when another fight broke out. Miles looked around at the few monitors, trying to find out which could have caught them the best way, sitting by the bar, enamored with each other.

There was only one scanning the bar, but...there was one at the exit too. The owner left Miles to his own devices, giving him the time to watch the videos of this fateful night. 

After spending about two hours of watching people walk in and out, drinking and flirting, a certain scene caught his attention. A tall and broad man walked in, dressed to the nines. How hadn’t he noticed the guy? Oh, right, he was trying to get laid by a woman and not act out on his bisexual urges for once. 

The man in the suit sat down close by Miles and Mindy, and from what Miles could see, he was eyeing Mindy a lot. Well, who wouldn’t, she was one beauty to die for.

Miles and Mindy left the bar around three in the morning. The man in the suit followed them close by, showing the world that he was not drunk, walking upright and tall. Soon enough the camera wasn’t on them anymore and Miles leaned back.

Who was the man in the suit? Why was he eyeing Mindy so much? Was he her killer?

With a few clicks, Miles loaded the video file onto an USB stick, ready to show it to the police. Maybe they knew him. Maybe they could show him a way of finding The Groom.

**_129 days before the arrest_ **

“You’ll be so beautiful”, Eddie muttered, stroking his next victim’s cheek. She wasn’t like one of those whores. He had been watching her all evening long, studying her body language, watching her swaying hips as she walked away from her seat. Just enough time to roofie her drink.

By the time she was back, the drug had dissolved and Eddie introduced himself to her. They talked for a bit until she started to feel weird. When questioned by a bartender, Eddie said she was feeling dizzy because of a low blood pressure and he’d take her home. He was a family friend after all.

Instead he drove her to his home, to his very special place for his very special wife. Or would she end up like the other whores? Eddie hoped not. She was too beautiful for such a fate. He had such high hopes for her. Would she live up to them or fail?

124 days before the arrest

“Good morning, Mr. Gluskin. You were asked to come in here as a suspect in a crime involving the death of a 25-year-old female.”

Eddie nodded along with the words of the police officer. Miles stood at the other side of a two-way-mirror, watching the first of many suspects in the case. The police had managed to filter out a few suspects due to the video Miles had brought them. 

But this dude…

“During the night of the 16th, you were witnessed leaving the bar at the same time as our victim - why?”

Eddie frowned at the question, pretending to take his time to think, “Well...if I remember correctly, it was curfew and we had to leave. I happened to walk behind the victim because we all had to leave. I have never seen this woman before in my life. I was there to drink and relax after a stressful day." His eyes lingered on the picture of Mindy presented to him. 

“Never.”

The lie detector didn’t go off, so Eddie was released with the order to not leave the city until the case was closed and her murderer caught. Just well, he thought, he doesn’t need to leave the city to kill.

“I don’t trust this guy," Miles said to himself, thinking of ways how this Gluskin guy could have caught Mindy. Did he attack her? But the bruises on her limbs were from ropes and not a blunt object.

Miles stared out of the window, watching Gluskin get into his car and leave. He drove a Hyundai Santa Fe, 2007, with tinted windows. Nobody could look into the backseat of the car…

Miles quickly wrote down the license plate of Eddie’s car before he drove around the corner. 

  
  


**_35 days before the arrest_ **

“I am sorry darling, but I cannot accept this. You tried to get away from me?! From me, your husband, who has been nothing but loving and caring to you?! You are just another ungrateful slut! Like all the others! Oh, come on, don’t cry on me now. You are useless, you and the bastard baby you are carrying! Just shut up and die already! There...there you go. But this time, we will leave the uterus in. It deserves to rot with you.”

  
  


**_30 days before the arrest_ **

“Cuticles, check this out!” Miles yelled over the news, his cat instantly by his side. The Groom had found a new victim after being quiet for about three months - a fact which increased Miles’s belief that Gluskin was the killer. 

The catch this time? Autopsy showed the woman was three months pregnant by the time she was killed. And she had been missing for three months, last seen in a restaurant. The bartender which was working at the time told the police that the woman left with a man because she was feeling ill. The man didn’t give a name, but he had a very prominent jaw…

Miles piped up at the description - that fit Gluskin perfectly!

“Cuticles! I can and will find him!”

Miles spent the night reading every article, every little tidbit he could find about the Groom. And all of his victims had something in common - all of them were young blondes, not older than 27, with big hips. How could he catch the Groom? Could he bait him and…

**_25 days before the arrest_ **

“So you want me to be your bait for a crazy serial killer who cuts out uteruses after he raped his victims?”

“Exactly.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you Upshur...I’m in.”

It had taken Miles quite some time to get one of his friends to play the bait for The Groom. Now all he needed to do was to set up a stage. Jacky, his blonde and young friend with nice hips, finally agreed to play along with his set up. She has helped Miles before as she had worked with the local police. Little hints and bits there, just enough for Miles to find out about happenings, to help him catch local bastards. By now, Jacky had become his partner in crime, especially when they had to commit crimes to solve them.

All she needed to do was find out where The Groom was, pretend to break up with her “boyfriend” Miles and catch Eddie’s attention.

Thanks to the license plate and a few questionable looks into the police database, Miles was able to find out where Eddie lived and how to find him. Eddie lived outside of the city, came in to work in his tailor shop during the week. He had rented a little flat to stay in while he worked in the city - but Miles was sure he’d find more clues in Eddie’s house outside of New York City. But at this point, all he had to find out was where Eddie frequented, where he had picked up his victims, and how to finally get him behind iron bars.

**_1 day before the arrest_ **

Friday evening.

Equipped with two GPS trackers, one in her bra, one swallowed down in a little capsule, Jacky was ready to throw herself out as bait for her best friend’s crime case. The two entered the bar together, and to their surprise, Eddie was already there. Nipping on a beer, he watched the “couple” walk in, putting in their orders. 

“What? You did what with my best friend?!”

“No, darling, no…”

“I have seen the pictures! Get out of my sight! Get out of my life!”

Miles groaned, shaking his head and leaving Jacky alone by the table - ready for a new lover to pick her up.

Jacky sighed dramatically and took out her phone, activating both trackers, sending all information to Miles who was sitting in his jeep, one block away, watching every move Jacky made.

“Why is such a beautiful woman all alone on a Friday night?” A voice interrupted Jacky’s silence. Eddie had walked over to her, his beer in his hand, 

Quick, think of something, Jacky…

“Well, my boyfriend decided to be an ass and leave me here, so I might as well stay and drink." She gave Eddie a smile, “What’s your name?”

“Edward. And yours, beautiful?”

“Jacky.”

“A breathtaking name for a breathtaking woman. May I sit down with you?”

Jacky and Eddie talked and talked - Eddie often commenting on the apple juice she was drinking, how he should pay her an alcoholic drink, they were in a bar after all - until she excused herself to go to the bathroom. There, she called Miles, giving him all information he needed. Eddie was getting impatient, and she could feel it. It was only a matter of minutes until he’d pull a move on her, and she wasn’t keen on getting dragged somewhere without informing Miles first.

“Don’t worry Jacky. We have gone through this several times. I can and will always track you down, he cannot hurt you at all. I promise you.”

Jacky left the bathroom, walking back to her new friend. Eddie gave her a big smile once she was back.

“Please, I ordered you a new drink. A fly had dived into your old one, and I cannot stomach the thought of you drinking something which had a fly in it! Please, enjoy.”

And as soon as the liquor hit her taste buds, she felt a salty undertone, and everything went black.

The moment Eddie’s car drove off, Miles followed them closely. But not too close - he didn’t want to catch the possible Groom’s attention. The way out of the city was a rather long one, the anxiety inside of Miles bubbled like a volcano, ready to spill over at any point, But he had to stay strong. Jacky counted on him, and so would Mindy, watching from the afterlife, making sure he’d catch her killer.

After one and a half hours of driving, Eddie pulled into a driveaway, Miles stopping a few houses shy of the home. It was Eddie’s home. Miles ran as fast as he could, caught Eddie dragging Jacky inside. Bingo.

“There you go…”, Eddie muttered as Jacky slowly blinked awake. The surrounding was unknown to her, but she was in something that one could describe as a weird mixture between a honeymoon suite and a prison cell. She had been placed on a big bed, covered in silky sheets and velvet blankets. The bed was surrounded by a see-through curtain with gold embedded in it. But the walls were blank. No wallpaper, no pictures, nothing. Just a plain cement wall with a few questionable stains on it. A toilet and a sink were mounted to a wall, the door looked heavy.

“Wher-”

“Sh...I will give you something that’ll help you...relax. And tomorrow, we will start a whole new chapter of our lives. Together! Isn’t that beautiful, Darling? You’ll make a great mother and wife to our children!”

Eddie rambled as he took a pill out of his pocket, and despite Jacky’s struggles, he placed it in her mouth. Jacky tried to spit it out, but Eddie held an iron grip on her jaw and pinched her nose shut, which forced her to swallow it down. And for the second time on his evening, everything went black.

**_The day of the arrest_ **

Once Jacky had settled down, Eddie checked his watch - it was midnight already! What a late time! He stood up from the bed, placing a kiss on his new bride’s forehead before he left the bedroom, locking it twice, and sealing the secret entrance.

Eddie went to bed, as he had to get up early in the next morning. A bride was in need on the day of her wedding, and Eddie had agreed to help her out very early.

Miles, on the other hand, stayed awake the whole night. He had settled down in his car, drinking one cup of coffee after the other, playing with his phone until Eddie would leave. Too bad a bride didn’t need his help. Too bad it was just a fake mail Miles had sent out from one of his hundreds of mail accounts. Too bad Eddie had to drive two hours to realize he had been tricked.

At six in the morning, the roaring of a car’s engine woke Miles from his dazed state. Eddie had left his house early on, giving Miles enough time to search through the house.

As soon as Eddie turned around the corner, Miles jumped out of his car, running towards the house. The house or the garage, which one should he check out first? The garage looked small, so in case Eddie had something hidden in there, he’d find it quickly. Then, he checked the GPS tracker - Jacky was somewhere in that direction!

Miles headed to the garage, which was surprisingly unlocked. There was a workbench covered in needles, fabric and other things, two closets and a sewing machine. Probably Eddie’s sewing room, Miles thought and was about to turn around, when something caught his eye. One closet was mounted to the wall, the other one was standing a few inches away from the wall. That’s weird. Who would drill a close into a wall?

Miles opened the closet with shaking hands and was greeted with - nothing. The closet was empty. But if years of journalism, diving head first into trouble and nearly dying a few times had taught Miles anything, then that’s nothing is as it seems. He grabbed his phone and turned on the flashlight. The back of the closet was kept in a beautiful mahogany colour with an extremely tiny part with a dent in it. Miles reached over, pressed into the dent, and the wall opened up, revealing a staircase heading into the ground.

By now, his fear cut his airways tight, leaving Miles with short breath and sweat on his forehead, but he couldn’t turn back now. He had to save Jacky and catch the Groom.

Equipped with the flashlight of his phone, Miles made his way down the stairs, stepping into some questionable fluid on the way there (which later turned out to be dried blood). Step by step by step. At the end, he was standing in a small room with two doors. One was made out of heavy wood, something you’d expect to see in an old bank, hiding the treasure behind it. Two locks were on it. Miles reached into his pocket, pulling out a few hairpins which he always kept close. Why? One wouldn’t imagine how impressed women are when they see that Miles keeps hairpins for them in case they needed one. That’s why he hadn’t been laid in over two years.

Miles had enough time and started to work on the first lock. Picking it took him quite a while, just like for the second one. As soon as both were open, the door opened up with a terrible screeching sound. He stepped inside, looked around… and was greeted by a sleeping Jacky! The effect of the pill hadn’t worn off yet, but on her nightstand was a little plate with fruits and vegetables on it. “For my beautiful bride :-)” was written on a note next to them, and judging by the smell, Eddie had put some kind of medication in there too.

No reason in waking up a drugged woman, Miles thought, and let Jacky sleep on the bed. He had checked on her - no sign of choking hazards, no sign of any wounds which could be infected - Jacky was safe, and that’s what mattered the most. Instead, he walked out as far as he could, and called the police. Quick information, he had found the latest victim of the Groom and needed assistance at the house. He also told them where he had led Eddie for the “help with the dress”.

While the police were on theirway, Miles went back inside again. There was still another room which he hadn’t bothered to check out. Knowing that he was safe now, Miles stood in front of another heavy door, this time it was made out of metal, and the smell of blood and death sank through the walls.

Prepared for the worst, Miles opened the door, but the sight presented to him would haunt him for the rest of his life.

In front of him was a large room filled with freezers. On each freezer was a number, ranging from 1 to 40. From a few, a liquid seeped out of the bottom, a mixture of ice and blood. Miles held his jacket up to his nose and dared to open one of the freezers. Inside was the dead body of a young woman, barely a day older than 18, and she looked as if she was just sleeping. Once again, her uterus had been cut out neatly.

Miles walked along the corridor of death and gore until he reached the end. One last big freezer there had caught his attention. There was no number on it, and it was larger than the others. Should he…? Probably not, but curiosity got the best of him.

Inside of the very last freezer were the uteruses Eddie had cut out from his victims. Only by looking into it, Miles was sure there were more than 50 in there. More than 50 women killed by the Groom. A few of the uteruses clearly had babies in them in various stages of development, from only a tiny one to nearly fully grown, ready to give birth to.

“They all could have been beautiful.”

The sudden voice made Miles turn around in shock, the freezer dropping shut. Eddie was standing in the door, a knife in his hand. But the worst was his smile. Eddie’s smile wasn’t the one of a sane man. It was the smile one had once every wire in their brain melted. Nothing was important to Eddie anymore.

Miles raised his hand, showing he wasn’t armed.

“All of them. But they betrayed me, hurt me. Cheating. Trying to run away. But I was nothing but kind and sweet to them! So they had to pay.”

Eddie slowly walked over to Miles, who was backed up to the freezer by now. No way of escaping his death.

“But not everything is lost.”, Eddie said, placing a hand on the freezer where the fetuses were stored, “Once I have found my perfect wife, I will warm my children up, and they will be nourished by their beautiful mother. I kept them safe from the whores they would call their mothers. Isn’t that nice?”

“...I suppose.”

“Of course it is!”, Eddie said, and in an instant, he raised his knife up to Miles’s throat. “But sadly, you know about my secret now. That means you have to die. Don’t worry, I won’t keep you in a freezer. You are useless. Maybe the rats and bugs in New York City will flourish on your meat. Do you know why I threw some of them away? I had no storage for their whorish bodies anymore. So the dirtiest had to go.”

Miles slightly shook his head as the knife cut a bit into his skin, making him bleed ever so slightly. “Eddie...how did you-”

“Don’t you think I noticed you in the bar? You and your little friend? How you followed me back home? You think I’m stupid!?”

“Maybe a bi-”

“SHUT UP!” Eddie yelled at Miles, spitting all over his face in the process. “The only reason why I haven’t stuffed her into a freezer yet is because she has potential! Better than all those whores I took care of! But now it’s your turn! Say goodbye to yo-”

“That’s enough information.” Another voice came from the doorway. Two policemen stood in there, guns armed at Eddie. The Groom just grinned and dropped his knife, Miles letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and on the inside, he thanked every God he had ever heard of, from Zeus to Osris to Allah to Buddha and many more. “Mr. Gluskin, you are under arrest.”

**_10 days after the arrest_ **

“And he had what in those freezers?” Jacky asked, couldn’t believe her ear. She took another sip from her hot chocolate as she was bundled up in a blanket burrito, save and sound in Miles’ flat.

“Dead babies! Or better said fetus! This fucker thought he could warm them up again and continue developing them in his right wife’s body! They, babies ain’t chicken nuggets, you cannot just put them into the oven!”

Jacky laughed and reached for another cookie, “All of this happened while I was out cold...amazing. But I’m not mad I missed out on that sight.”

“Yeah, it was disturbing," Miles said and sat down next to her, turned on the TV. “From what I heard, he will either go on the electric chair or will be locked away for his whole life. What do you think would be better?”

“I don’t know. The image of dead babies scares me enough. As long as I don’t have to see him ever again, I’m happy.” Cuticles had taken the opportunity and cuddled up to Jacky, licking her arm in need of attention.

“That’s the only rational answer to this. Hey, how about we watch a documentary about cute animals? After this bullshit, I need to see cute things.”

“Deal, Upshur.”


End file.
